North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Counterculture Family, and How I Survived Both

by Cea Sunrise Person

Genres: Nonfiction

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published December 30, 2025

About the author

Author of the bestselling memoirs North of Normal and Nearly Normal. Wife, mom, friend, dream believer.

Reviews

[Sophia Da Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing memoir! Could not put the book down. Cried 3 times, stayed up until 2am reading. Can’t wait to watch the movie.

[Tam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely interesting and well told.

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I genuinely could not put this book down (besides for the week I spent procrastinating finishing the final section), and it’s been a minute since i’ve found that in a novel. I’m so glad that i happened upon it while passing a “two for twenty” deal at my local bookstore.

As a soon-to-be 18-year-old who has grown up in British Columbia, Canada my entire life, since I have been aware of marijuana it has been legal. Therefore, it always strikes me when a piece of media set in a different country or time makes reference to marijuana being illegal; this memoir again brought this foreign concept to my mind, and had me thinking about it in a different light. Person not only explores the negative consequences of having marijuana being an illicit drug, but also the dangers and real risk of dependency the substance poses for users - a fact often left undiscussed today. Her work also explores the concept of ‘nature versus nurture’ in the ways in which she seemingly rejected her unorthodox upbringing while others in her age and circumstance lost themselves to the chaos, but not without still having deep ties she had to fight to break later in life to avoid being completely lost to the same vice as her mother. The novel too makes the reader consider the relationship between man and nature; the choice between fleeting wonder, spiritual awakening, or complete societal rejection many individuals face when faced with the wild (and the choice between it being a challenge to concur or a teacher to call home). Person also explores sexual abuse in a raw, unfiltered light that brought as much twists and turns to my stomach as it did tears to my eyes. One moment even gave me literal goosebumps at the mention of the infamous ‘Highway of Tears’.

I absolutely adored this book, and have no doubt it will stick with me.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Heartbreaking. Difficult to reconcile the whole story.

[Mary Kanigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great memoir. If you liked the books Educated or The Glass Castle, then you’ll enjoy North of Normal.

[Alexandra Knowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking yet triumphant.